How do I get the best from my candle? (scroll down for Spa)

Soy wax candles burn at a lower temperature than paraffin alternatives and tend to burn for longer. When first lit, it’s the wick that burns so a good idea is to trim the wick a little after 15 minutes or so and every hour or two thereafter. Allow the candle to burn if possible until the top layer of wax has melted, especially the first and second time used.. This can take a few hours; doing this in the first ‘burn’ helps create a memory of how to burn next time and will help avoid a ‘tunneling’ in the wax. This is only to extend the life of your candle and is not a requirement. Burning for longer periods rather than short ‘bursts’ is beneficial to the life of your candle - but be careful how hot the glass container gets. Trim the wick before re-lighting and every time the candle is lit thereafter; sometimes ‘pinching’ the wick tip when cold with fingertips and a tissue is enough – and a bit easier. After a while all this makes sense and as a simple rule keep the wick just long enough to keep burning without becoming too large and ‘flickering’.

Worried about leaving a candle burning? It's a good idea to use an oven timer or the alarm on your mobile 'phone. You've a naked flame and it needs to be treated with respect. The minimum temperature for a candle flame is approximately 800C - you wouldn't put your finger in the flame so it's best to apply that caution to what's close to your candle and how hot the glass can become or how you protect your surfaces.

You can always trim the wick whilst burning also – just put it out first, trim then re-light. Trimming the wick as often as you can is beneficial: the flame is more efficient, it avoids ‘mushrooming’ at the tip and reduces or eliminates blackening/soot to the glass rim.

Please don’t burn your candle to the bottom of the container so that only a shallow pool of melted wax is left.  The wicks have a metal sheath to stop the wick burning to the base but still the container can get extremely hot and burns to skin are possible as well as causing permanent damage to surfaces - not to mention creating a hazard with glass breaking. Un-melted wax provides a ‘buffer’ to the heat so once all the wax has melted the candle flame will heat the glass to an extreme temperature. Never leave unattended and once again treat the living flame with respect. Should you spill the wax it is unlikely to burn as it has a low melt point if spilled on skin it won't burn. The wax will dissolve in hand-hot soapy water so fabrics etc. can be cleaned quite easily.

We promote the concept of re-cycling. We use wooden or metal lids, labels that can be removed and if you wish to re-use your container when finished it's quite simple: sit the container in hot water for a few minutes and allow the wax to melt. Pour this into your kitchen bin - it's biodegradable wax - then prise off the small sticker that has been holding the wick in place. Carefully hand-wash the container in hot soapy water - without using any abrasives. Rinse and wash again to remove any residual wax and then dry. The white jars have a film of paint on the inside so placing in a dishwasher will scratch or remove the paint.  Placing a tea light or one of our spa-lights inside can make very attractive candle shade - why not try some of our scented Spa lights?

Spa and Bedroom candles:

• In principle all that applies to the large candles applies to these; they are better suited to smaller rooms and despite their size (approximately twice the size of a standard tealight) they provide a strong dispersal of aroma. Treat the containers as you would glass in that they need to sit on a saucer or coaster to protect surfaces and be wary if they've been burning a few hours as they will be hot. Maximum burn time is 2-3 hours with 1 hour quite acceptable unlike the large candles. Average burn time for each light is between 12 and 13 hours each. Always trim the wick for better performance. Once finished the plastic containers are bio-degradable so can be discarded